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Somalia: a different perspective

Photo: 1/21Students at General Daud School in Mogadishu. Three hundred students ranging from six to 25 years old attend General Daud School in Mogadishu. Photo: Petterik Wiggers.

Attendance is free for students. School principal Sayed Farah Dirie, 25, says all the teachers are volunteers. Sayed earns an income from private tutoring in the evenings so he can buy second-hand schoolbooks and materials for students to use.

There are still over a million refugees from Somalia in neighboring countries.

Photo: 3/21A pastoralist rests his camels at a watering hole, near Wajir Pastoralist Aden Barre rests his camels at a watering hole near Wajir, close to the Somali-Kenya border. Photo: Petterik Wiggers.

Somalia is home to six million camels, the largest camel population in the world. In the rich legacy of Somali oral traditions the camel has become symbolic of the people’s tenacity and strength.

Photo: 4/21Livestock at Bosasso port, Puntland At Bosasso port, Puntland, the export of livestock is one of the most important sources of income. Photo credit: Petterik Wiggers.

Elsewhere in Somalia, Mogadishu’s seaport officially reopened its doors for livestock export in March 2013 for the first time in almost two decades.

Photo: 5/21A boy and his catch of the day on the coast. Somalia boasts 3,300 kilometers of coastline – the longest stretch in Africa. Photo credit: Petterik Wiggers.

Over the last two decades, instability has greatly restricted the development of the fishing industry, but now that Somalia is enjoying more peace there is potential to harvest the bountiful waters off its coast.

A young boy waits for a fresh cup of Somali yoghurt made from cow’s milk at the market in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Milk is one of the staple foods in Somalia.

Photo: 8/21Shukri Abdul-Kadir Ahmed, a nurse at a health center in Badbaado camp, Mogadishu, listens for a baby’s heartbeat. Badbaado shelters 28,000 people who have fled conflict or drought. Photo: Petterik Wiggers.

The health center is run by a local organization, Humanitarian Initiative Just Relief Aid (HIJRA). Trained medical staff care for more than 100 patients a day. For pregnant women, the health center provides a safe place to give birth.

Photo: 9/21Abdi Ali Celue and his son at a therapeutic care center in Mogadishu. Photo credit: Petterik Wiggers.

Abdi Ali Celue arrives with his son, Liban Abdi Ali, for the baby’s first day of treatment at a therapeutic care center for malnourished children and mothers in Mogadishu – one of 17 run by local agency SAACID.

Oxfam is working with a local partner, the Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Committee (HAVOYOCO) to help agro-pastoralist communities prepare for and cope with drought by improving access to water resources and pasture, and improving livestock health.

Oxfam is working with a local partner, the Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Committee (HAVOYOCO) to help agro-pastoralist communities prepare for and cope with drought by improving access to water resources and pasture, and improving livestock health.

Photo: 12/21Hussein Mohammed listens to the BBC Somali service on his radio while his camels stop for water. Radio is often the main source of information for people in rural areas. Photo: Petterik Wiggers.

To create awareness about the access to education for women, Oxfam and long time partner TASS (tadamun.org) organized a radio debate on Daljir FM to provoke discussions about gender inequality. The phone lines were open for the public to share their view.

There are still an estimated 369,000 people living in camps for internally displaced people in and around Mogadishu. Despite the challenging conditions, children manage to entertain themselves – in this case by making fun of the photographer!

Photo: 14/21Primary school students in Galkayo. Photo credit: Petterik Wiggers.

Primary school students are eager to have their photograph taken in Galkayo, Somalia. In the past, education was free in Somalia from primary school to university.

The shows are used as a tool to share health information, discuss governance issues, and promote an understanding of social problems among Somali communities.

Photo: 16/21The Central Mosque in Hargeisa. Islam is a central part of Somali life and its teachings form an important aspect of community and culture. Photo: Petterik Wiggers.

During the civil war in 1988, Hargeisa was reduced to rubble and 80 per cent of public utilities and services were completely destroyed. Somalis are making enormous strides in rebuilding infrastructure, opening up major towns for business and investment.

A young boy drinks fresh camel milk in northern Somalia. The milk is greatly valued for its health benefits and medicinal properties. “A mouthful of camel’s milk keeps you going for half a day.”, Axmed Cali Abokor, The Camel in Somali Oral Traditions.

Photo: 19/21On the way from Hargeisa to Berbera, Somaliland. Photo credit: Petterik Wiggers.

On the way from Hargeisa to Berbera, Somaliland, a dry river bed only holds water during the rainy season.

A boy peers from a tent in Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya, the largest refugee complex in the world. Dadaab was set up at the start of Somalia’s civil war in 1991. Designed to accommodate 90,000 Somali refugees, it is now home to nearly 500,000.

For two decades, Somali people have endured conflict and famine. Their suffering is often all the world sees. Yet, that picture is incomplete. The other image of Somalia, often over-looked, is that of the incredible strength and resilience of Somali people to survive and rebuild with dignity in the face of human catastrophe.

Photographer Petterik Wiggers first photographed the horrors of war and starvation in Somalia in the early 1990s, but has returned many times since to south central Somalia, Puntland and Somaliland, capturing Somali people in a different light. Here we also see their love for family, celebration, humor, new life, restoration, hope and pride in the face of adversity.

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Access to clean and safe water is difficult in Bowdha Dogore village in Adado district, Somalia, where Abdi Ahmed Jamaa, together with his 14 children and two wives reside. Oxfam partnered with TARDO and have been rehabilitating water cisterns (barkads).

Somalia faces some of the most severe humanitarian and development challenges in the world, exacerbated by ongoing armed conflict in parts of the country and intense, recurrent droughts. The challenges are immense, yet there is potential and hope for a better future. Oxfam has been working in Somalia for over 40 years with local communities, civil society and local authorities, delivering humanitarian assistance and longer-term development initiatives.

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